Lily’s Kitchen, the makers of natural and organic food for pets, has taken an innovative and unique approach to expanding the availability of its proper food for pets to a wider audience by creating a brand new diffusion range: Lily’s by Lily’s Kitchen.
Designed to complement its parent brand, Lily’s Kitchen, which has a loyal following in vets and in independent pet shops and organic shops, the diffusion range will be sold exclusively in Tesco stores from 30th July.
A diffusion range such as this is more likely to be found in the fashion industry (think Donna Karan with DKNY, Mulberry with Tessie and Armani with Emporio Armani) than FMCG. However bucking trends and thinking outside the box is what Lily’s Kitchen is respected for, having launched in the midst of a recession six years ago and being the first pet food company to produce grain-free and meal-free proper foods for pets.
Lily’s Kitchen’s philosophy of creating ‘the highest quality, healthy food for happy dogs and cats using only real, wholesome and nourishing natural ingredients’ has led to increased demand from savvy, concerned pet owners, with the company experiencing triple digit growth year on year.
In recent months the brand was positively featured in an exposé on the pet food industry. The Channel 5 documentary The Truth About Your Dog’s Food brought new customers to Lily’s Kitchen as they sought a high quality natural alternative to their current overly processed pet food.
Henrietta Morrison, Founder and MD of Lily’s Kitchen, says: “Our company vision is to provide good quality food to as many pets as possible and with the recent media interest surrounding what actually goes into pet food, as a minimum, consumers are increasingly seeking trustworthy brands, ethical supply chains and traceable, natural ingredients.”
The company is keen to point out that independents and specialist retailers are at the heart of its business. This is why it is retaining its parent brand Lily’s Kitchen just for them and will continue to innovate this category as much as ever, with early access to exciting NPD, seasonal exclusives and a unique marketing support programme.
“Independent stockists are hugely important to us," adds Henrietta. "The creation of the Lily’s range shows just how deeply we care about our existing relationships.
"Creating this separate range was not the easy option, however we wanted to approach this opportunity in the right way, being respectful of our independent stockists, some of whom have been with us for many years.
"We very much believe that it is possible to have our independent stockists and multiples working with us side by side all aligned to the same mission of providing the best possible food for pets.”
The new Lily’s range is endorsed ‘by Lily’s Kitchen’ and will share the same values and high standards as the parent range. Only freshly prepared meat and fish, fresh fruits and vibrant vegetables will be used in the diffusion range of natural wet and dry cat foods and dog foods. Each recipe will be completely natural and the packaging will be recyclable or compostable.
“We understand there are differences between the shopping environment and shopper expectations in multiples and independents. For this reason, and after much careful consideration, we decided to invest additional resources to create a separate range for Tesco and reserve our highly popular, original Signature range for independents and other existing stockists. This ensures our two ranges are each tailored to the individual needs of the channel they are sold in.”
Lily’s by Lily’s Kitchen will consist of 19 SKUs across dogs and cats, available in both dry and wet food. The dog range will be sub-branded ‘Delightful Doggy Dinners’ and the cat range ‘Fussy Feline Feasts’. Each new product has been designed using Lily’s Kitchen iconic hand cut illustration style. The messaging on pack is clear and simple, the colours bold but natural, all purposefully crafted to help the multiples shopper make an informed decision at the fixture.
Current Lily’s Kitchen products will continue to be stocked in independent stockists including pet shops, vets and heath food shops, who have built up loyal Lily’s Kitchen customers over the years and, as such, have something special to entice local customers through their doors. In addition, the brand will continue to be available in Waitrose, Ocado and online at lilyskitchen.co.uk.
